SUNDAY: DECEMBER 21, 1997: QUESTIONS FOR

SUNDAY: DECEMBER 21, 1997: QUESTIONS FOR; Harald Gaski

Published: December 21, 1997

Gaski, a professor at the University of Tromso in Norway, is a Sami, a group of indigenous people scattered throughout northern Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia.

Q: Samis are famous for herding reindeer, and they're sometimes cast as Santa's little helpers by tourist officials in Finland. Does that cutesy image upset you?

A: Yes. Only 10 percent of the Samis herd reindeer, but the Finns have been the most egregious exploiters of Sami culture. Some stores sell Sami handicrafts -- like reindeer hats -- that are really mass-produced in China. Also, the Finns stage events in which tourists undergo Sami baptism rituals done by ''shamans.'' Such practices have naturally led to protests.

Q: For years, Samis have sold powdered reindeer horn as an aphrodisiac. Recently, a study attributed Sami virility to something else: a genetic mutation that increases testosterone production. Whether it's horn-oriented or gene-oriented, do Sami men have something that other men don't?

A: I am not the person to ask: You should ask my wife! At least that news means the Samis will reproduce and survive.